Seoul’s Waterbomb festival kicked off the summer season over the weekend with dozens of artists performing at the event. Solo artist Kwon Eunbi, dubbed the “Waterbomb Goddess,” delivered a performance that included a cover of Beyoncé’s “Crazy In Love.”
Clips from her performance quickly went viral. The response was mixed, with some lauding her bold choice, others criticizing it, and some expressing concern about whether going for such a provocative performance was her own decision.
Sexual Harassment Allegations Surface Following Waterbomb Performance
A netizen shared a painful story of Eunbi’s alleged sexual harassment during one of her performances in a now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter). The original poster claimed that the idol constantly gets sexually harassed at university festivals.
The netizen mentioned that while performing at a particular university in Daejeon, Eunbi tried to interact with the audience while holding a mic in their direction. A guy suddenly shouted an inappropriate remark about her breasts right in her face.
The original poster clarified that the incident happened at their former university and they witnessed it first-hand. They also claimed that a video of the incident exists on the school’s online forum but refused to disclose the school’s name to protect current students from backlash.
Though unverified, the anecdote has sparked intense debate about Eunbi’s Waterbomb performance. Many reiterated their fears about her well-being.
Netizens acknowledged that Eunbi should not have to face sexual harassment regardless of what she chose to wear. They also expressed skepticism about how much her unburdened choice was reflected in her stage outfit and the dance moves that turned her performance into a spectacle this year.
Many called out her company for its failure to protect her from sexual harassment. They also criticized the institution that failed to apologize and reprimand their student for his conduct.
Chart Performance and Social Media Growth Follow Viral Performance Clips
Eunbi saw an increase in followers on her Instagram account, gaining over 117,000 followers in just three days following the Waterbomb performance. Her YouTube channel also saw an increase in subscribers, gaining around 4,000 in the same time frame.
The performance impacted her chart performance, with a well-known tracking site reporting that three of her songs were charting in the top 120 of various regions iTunes Charts. In Taiwan, her latest song “Hello Stranger” jumped 30 spots in 24 hours, while it joined the chart in Hong Kong as a new entry.
“Underwater” and “Door” also had new entries in Hong Kong and Taiwan, respectively.
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